37 weeks...game on!

I've been slacking on my postings for the past month or so, so I'm sorry to all of you that have been asking for an update!

37 weeks now as of this past Wenesday...we're considered full term now so let's get this thing going! I've got three weeks left until the actual due date, but everything is completely formed and developed at this point so any day that the munchkin wants to come is safe and is more than fine by me! Any advice on things that are supposed to put you into labor are welcome....so help me out!

The hospital bag is packed. The car seat is in the car. The swing and bouncy seat have made their home in our living room. The bassinet is waiting in our bedroom. Chris has a loaned beeper from the hospital to keep on at work (since it's sometimes impossible for me to get ahold of him). We're ready to go.

The past month has finally been the time that we could really get ready. Up until then, it was just a waiting game it seemed. We had two baby showers and received so many nice things from everyone. I don't think there is anything else that we need at this point, other than clothes. I knew that would be the only thing that we wouldn't get ahead of time...an entire green and yellow wardrobe is something I didn't want, so we'll just get to start our clothes collection after he/she arrives! We are finished with all of our childbirth classes, and actually enjoyed going to them. Everyone seemed to tell us what a waste of time they are, but our teacher made it a lot of fun for all of us and we actually looked forward to going each week.


I've started on my one-week appointments now that D-day is coming and everything seems to be doing good each time I go. The baby is head down and it will stay in that position from now on. The dr. checked me out last week and there's nothing going on down there...0 cm dilated. I was hoping have something going on but nothing! I have one last ultrasound scheduled for next Tuesday so the dr. can just check again on its size. The ultrasound can be up to 2 lbs off at this point, which I think is crazy, so she said if it's measuring anywhere around 10.5-11 lbs on the screen (with 2 weeks left to go at that point) they'll want to schedule a c-section so we don't run the risk of trying it naturally and then having the baby get stuck. I don't think it's THAT big right now, so i'm hoping to at least be able to try to get the bean out on my own.


I've decided that I'm going to go the epidural route, just like most people these days. I think my mom and aunts think I'm being a sally, but we all know they would have done it had they had the option way back when! At least with an epidural, the dr. can adjust the dose that goes into me according to what I want.

How I look: Well, I've put on a total of 30 lbs which is perfect according to my doctor. Apparently most women don't gain much more at this point even though the baby is still gaining about 1oz a day now. I guess as the baby puts on the weight now, most of the fuid around it starts to decrease, so my weight will stay pretty even for the most part now. I'm so glad I was able to keep it in check the whole time. I was scared to death when I found out I was pregnant to gain 50 or 60 lbs! Random strangers that have been asking me when I'm due all seem to be surprised that I only have a couple weeks left...I guess I look a little smaller in the belly than most would think, but my theory is that the baby is actually invading all of the space in my body all the way to my back without forcing my stomach out! I still haven't had any swelling in my face, feet, or hands so that's a definite plus. All of the clothes I've been wearing are just starting to get a little small all over now, but I refuse to go buy something new for 3 weeks of wear...I'm now down to wearing the same 3 outfits over and over it seems.

How I feel: Ugh! Get it out now! I'm still feeling the same that I have been the past couple months. Still a lot of pain and pressure constantly and it's worse when I'm upright where gravity is pulling down. I've still been wearing my awesome Pregnancy Belt which has been a lifesaver during the day at work when I have to be up and down. I can't wait for the day that I don't have to put it on anymore! It's getting much harder to get up and down from the couch or bed these days, and I know it'll just get worse these last couple weeks. I've definitely got the pregnancy waddle going on now and have lost my Brun speedwalk. Chris says he'd like me to stay pregnant with my slow walk so I won't ever bug him to hurry up when we're out and about again. Um, Chris, shut it. Because of how I'm feeling, I finally gave up with walking at Lowe's last week. We went there to look for a storm door and I knew it would be a long process of standing in the aisle looking, reading, etc. and just leaning on the cart wasn't going to do me or my attitude any good. Soooo, I broke down and got on the scooter. I can't believe I did it, but I did. There we were, Jill riding along side Chris with his shopping cart. We could not stop laughing for a good 5 minutes. I felt like such an idiot but I was comfortable! Of course Chris turned down one aisle and I followed, just for him to turn around and go back the other way. No, no. We do not reverse in the scooter. We will not make it beep so loud that you can hear it a mile away just so people can stare. So I proceeded to make my way all the way up the aisle to go back down after I could turn around still going forward! We got to where we needed to be, and sure enough we were in the storm door aisle for a good 15-20 minutes so I'm glad I decided to ride. Then of course, as we started our way back to the front of the store, the scooter I had to pick started to run out of power. So, there I am trying to get the darn thing back up front with Chris trying to help pull it. It was a fun trip to Lowe's:).

This will probably be my last post until the baby arrives since we're just a couple weeks out. We'll try to get something up on here after we're home for everyone. Until then....

31 weeks

I know I say this every month, but I can't believe another month has come and gone. Only 9 more weeks and we get to find out what the bean is!

We're feeling pretty good about our 'baby preparedness' at this point. The nursery is all done with the exception of some putting up some knick-knacky things and filling in some small spaces, so that's a huge relief. It'll still feel empty until we get all the stuff to fill it with in the next few weeks. We're pretty happy with it, and we've gotten multiple comments on the stripes on the walls...thank you to my anal-retentive husband who spent a good 3.5 hours just taping off for the stripes with his level. I'm pretty sure they're nice and straight Chris...can we get on with the painting now?? We've also been told by many people to start stocking up on the essentials so it's not such a hit to the wallet all at once. We bought our first box of diapers from Costco a few weeks ago and Chris was a little surprised by the price...I told him that they're practically half the price at Costco than they are anywhere else so be happy about that! Oh he's going to be in for it with the cost of 'stuff' isn't he?

We've started to receive a few of the larger items we'll use which is pretty exciting. It's like there's really going to be a baby now that we're actually getting everything ready! Chris is practicing his stroller skills pretty regularly now too. We got the infant seat/carrier and stroller frame from to-be Grandma Kruger a few weeks ago, and every once in a while Chris just comes wheeling the stroller out of the baby room to, a-hem, 'make sure it's working properly'. Ha! It's pretty funny to see him just rolling around the house with it.

We're also getting ready to attend a couple of baby showers in the next couple weeks and I'm pretty sure he's more excited than I am to try out all the new things. Maybe I should sit them out and let him be the guest of honor so he can open everything!

As far as Krugie goes, everything is moving along as it should be. I don't need to get another ultrasound for now, but may need to towards the end so they can guess at the size. The heartbeat is nice and strong, and we actually get to listen to it at home now which is pretty cool. Chris has an old stethoscope so he likes to listen to it beating along at night. He/she is still rolling around constantly and the kicks are getting much stronger now. I'll feel a nice jab to my ribs and then a second later a good kick to my bladder. It's just having a grand old time in there!

How I look: Bigger...imagine that:). I'm pretty much cycling through my small collection of sundresses, skirts, and gaucho pants for the summer since all are nice and stretchy. I'm carrying everything really low so anything stretchy is my friend. I've gained 21 lbs. at this point which is nicely in the range that I'm supposed to be gaining. At this point it's mostly in my belly and hips which is awesome. I haven't seen any of it in my face (according to me at least!)yet so that's a postive. Luckily, I haven't started swelling anywhere yet either.

How I feel: Well...honestly, I've been better. At this point, I'd take the extra weight and puffiness if it would take the pain away from my stomach. I guess I've been hit with one of those painful pregnancies that I've heard about. About a month ago it started to get really painful by the end of the day when I get home...very heavy, constant pressure and constant sharp pain all around my stomach. It only goes away when I lay down and gravity stops pulling. I even started with the Braxton Hicks contractions a couple weeks ago too, which are not very comfortable. I got really scared when I noticed them sometimes happening multiple times in an hour. I went back to the doc to make sure things were ok and from my very lengthy description of what's been happening, and an exam of course, all I get is "everything is fine down there, but some people experience much more pain than others..all you can really do is lay down and rest". Well, I can't very well 'rest' during the day at work, so I now deal with it as best I can at work and then lay down all night long once I get home. I feel like I'm getting nothing done at night but I can't walk around without hunching over to try to minimize the pain. I even lay angled backwards so gravity pulls things towards my chest more, and that relieves it right away...maybe I can lay upside down at work all day so I don't feel it?? If this is how it feels now, I'm scared of how it's going to feel the last couple weeks with the extra added weight I'll have then! I was telling my chiropractor about it today and he said his wife went through the same thing with one of their kids. Every thing he said about her is exactly what's been happening to me. He said by the end she didn't do anything but lay down all day and just to get out of the house, she'd go shopping and use the electronic scooter carts since it hurt to walk far into the store. I don't want to be a scooter user!!

Because of this little issue, I've now resorted to wearing the dreaded Pregnancy Belt(thank you Jen!). It's a really lovely, pretty, thick elastic and velcro belt that straps around your hips and under the belly to support everything (imagine the guys at Lowe's and the black back supports they all wear). No, it does not fit nicely under form fitting shirts so I'm trying to wear things where the bulk won't show through. Since I've been wearing it, though it's only been a few days, it's helping just enough to keep me from having to hunch over when I walk. It kind of compresses and lifts everything so hopefully having this will let me get some of my day-to-day stuff done after work!

Here are some pictures of the baby's room since a lot of you have been asking to see what it looks like! We did all the painting way back in May. Until next time....

25 weeks and an ultrasound

We've made it 6 months. We're closing in on entering the third trimester which is really, really hard to believe. You find out you're pregnant and think there's so much time to do everything, then next thing you know you've only got a couple months left with days that seem to be filling faster and faster. We haven't had a chance to plan that 'one last vacation' that everyone recommends so I'm feeling like we need to go somewhere soon!

So this past month is the first month that I've really started to look pregnant (finally!) to where random strangers notice. I've been warned about these strangers by all moms. They are the people that stop you to ask the same old questions...'When are you due?" (I just need to wear the 'Due in October' shirt that my sis in law Amy gave me everywhere I think), 'Do you know what you're having?', 'Have you been feeling good?'. And I've finally experienced the random acts of belly touching by people I don't know. We were up in Ohio last week for my grandma's funeral and I had at least 10 people over the weekend that I don't know come up and touch it...without asking. What is it about a pregnant belly that just draws hands to it? I'm a big 'personal space' person and I was completely thrown off by all the touching. I think I need to add "No touching needed" to my Due in October shirt.

With the finally protruding belly this month, nothing too incredibly drastic has changed. I still feel the little thing moving all the time day and night, and my favorite thing to do is to lay down and watch TV at night just watching the quick bulges as it kicks and then watch the waves it creates when it shifts positions. I think that's one of Chris' favorite things too. He just sits and stares at my stomach waiting for it to move.

I'm still feeling really good and am eating like I always have. I still haven't had any constant cravings so I'm a little disappointed with that. I was really hoping for something fun or crazy to start eating but nothing yet. One thing that has happened this past month is a instant numb left hip as soon as I lay on my right side. I can't lay on it for even 10 seconds without my left hip going numb with that burning, tingly, sleeping feeling. It goes away as soon as I shift away from the right side....so I'm having trouble sleeping only on my left side at night. I just want to roll around to shift positions but can't since I'm not supposed to sleep on my back and the right side is causing issues. Luckily my body pillow is still keeping me comfortable:)

We had another ultrasound today again. Our last one was 6 weeks ago and the bean was measuring pretty big for how far along I was. My doc ordered another ultrasound to see if it's still showing bigger than normal so we can monitor it for down the road. So we went today and got the chance to see him/her again! Unfortunately, Krugie didn't feel like having it's picture taken today. The head was facing directly towards my spine so we couldn't see a shot of it's face at all. Of all times for it to stay in one position and not move, it chooses the day that we get to see it! It just sat there and didn't move for the whole hour...and that never happens on a normal day! So we only got to walk out with a shot of the spine, and one of the little foot up by its head. We both just walked out looking at each other thinking we got hosed on our visit today:). So other than not seeing it's face, everything went well with it. The doctor that reads the ultrasounds will have the results to my doctor for my next appointment next week, so we'll know more then. But I asked the tech before we left about the size that the measurements were showing on the computer. She said, it's reading at approx 2lbs 3 oz. Really. Really? The 'average' size for a 25 week old is 1lb 8oz. That's showing 11oz more than average which is alot! I'm hoping that these ultrasounds aren't accurate! I know the further along you get the more range there is with measurements so I'm hoping that it's really not as big as it's showing! Time will tell:)

This weekend will be finish up the nursery weekend. We've had it painted for a couple weeks but finally got our crib and dresser in there, so hopefully we'll be able to fill in the gaps this weekend. It's so weird and exciting to walk into our office and see a crib set up!

Next week is my glucose tolerance test, to test for gestational diabetes. I'm not looking forward to the fasting after midnight (I wake up starving in the morning!) and drinking the super sugary orange drink to have my blood taken...we'll see how that goes!


Here are our spine and foot pictures from today...

Good bye Nagy...we'll miss you

Today we learned Nagymama(my grandma) passed away. It's been a very long life for her and we will miss her dearly. She had gotten really sick in the last week so we were all prepared for it. All of her kids (my aunts and uncles) were able to be in town to see her for the past few days and I know that's been really helpful for all of them.

Though I know it's rare for someone to know or have any recollection of their great grandparents, I'm still saddened that my kids will never get to know her. They won't get to get her ever-popular birthday cards with a $1 bill and a note saying "Buy you's a coke", or ever get to taste her chicken paprikash, palascinta or green bean soup, or get the Hungarian cook book from her when they get married. They won't get to hear her tell them all kinds of bad words in Hungarian or get to go in her basement to play pool and hang out at Pops' awesome bar. But they will get to hear all of our stories about her and how ornery she was.

I know she's upstairs now probably dancing with Pops to some Hungarian polka music and having the best time. We'll miss you Nagy.

The hospital tour...enough to freak a first time mom out

So last night we took a hospital tour to check out one of the hospitals that we might have the baby at. I'm thinking this is going to be pretty uneventful and really boring but I just wanted to see how this place works.

So we all meet in the main lobby and our nurse tour guide takes us all upstairs to the birthing center. There are about 8 of us on tour and we all get off the elevator to our first stop of looking in the nursery. About a minute into it all, around the corner comes a nurse running a very pregnant mom in a wheelchair to one of the observation rooms as she is (sorry it's gross) vomiting into a huge bowl in her lap. Now when I say vomiting, I mean she has a BIG bowl in her lap already filled with vomit as she is vomiting even more into it as she passes us. I don't know how much stuff was in that poor woman's stomach but it was alot! All of us to-be moms look at each other with that 'holy crap (insert curse word instead)' look on our faces. We could hear her moaning down the hall once she turned the corner as a doctor sprints passed us and we hear nurses calling her name saying 'Faye, Faye, can you hear me, Faye!" and over the loud speaker is 'Rapid response Birth Center, rapid response Birth Center'. Awesome.

So our nurse tour guide lady just kind of says 'wow, busy night tonight' and 'it's not usually like this'...Lord, I hope not! She decides to take us down the hall to the waiting room so that things can calm down and we are out of the way for the doctors. As we all pile into the room we hear sick Faye screaming...screaming. Jesus Lord, I do not want to have this baby anymore. What in the world could be happening down there? If that's not enough to scare you about having a kid, I dont know what is. So we stay in the room for a while then continue our tour.

We then go to the LDRP (Labor Delivery Recovery Postpartum) room for her to show us everything. This is the one room that moms have for their entire stay which is pretty nice. That way, you're not moving around to different rooms. Not that it was really shocking, and I really wouldn't have paid much attention to any of this if I were already in labor without having seen the room prior to my arrival. But when you lift the sheets back on the bed, raise the bed, lift the back of the bed, detach the bottom half of the bed, and raise the stirrups, and there's just this delivery bed staring at you, it's a little freaky looking...especially with the nice red Biohazard bag just hanging out below the edge of the bed waiting to catch 'stuff'. I mean, I watch all these shows on TLC but when you just see the bed hanging out waiting there it's just weird. We did like it that she took us through how everything works and how a typical delivery works so it answers alot of questions.

After this room (quite some time had passed) she took us down the hall where sick Faye was taken to show us the Observation room where you would go if you are checked into the hospital for any reason prior to labor where they can just watch and monitor you. This is where Faye was so we weren't allowed to actually check the room out. The nurse in that area says we were not allowed to go in because it's 'really messy' in there. Seriously, what is wrong with poor Faye...why is the room so 'messy'?? Again, all of us just look at each other. I know not every pregnancy is happy and perfect but when you see someone sick like that it really just makes you think all these scary thoughts. Crazy.

So that was basically our visit last night. Much more eventful than we anticipated.

22 weeks

I had my monthly dr. appointment today. Every time I go I always think they are going to do more than just measure my stomach and listen to the heartbeat and always seem to be a little diappointed when they don't...like I'm expecting something really cool to happen and then..nothing. I'm just greedy I think.

So first thing today at the visit the doctor talks about the 'big' baby on the ultrasound from a couple weeks ago. She's not necessarily concerned...yet. She did say Krugie was definitely measuring big for it's due date and wants me to have another ultrasound in three weeks to see how it measures then. If it's still measuring much more ahead of where it typically should be then they are going to start to monitor me more closely and probably send me for more ultrasounds as we progress along. She said it's possible that it may have just measured big that early on but that it could kind of level off as we go. Or he/she could just keep it up and be pretty hefty. I guess having an ultrasound a little further along will be more accurate than that first one so that will help them guess what's going to happen down the road. I'm ok with seeing new pictures of him/her so send me for more tests!

I asked her how the whole having the baby thing would work if it's getting too big. She said that if we get to the point where he/she is measuring 10lbs (holy crap) and I'm not showing any signs of my cervix thinning then they would probably do a planned c-section to get the bean out. If we get to where it's measuring 10lbs and I am starting to show signs of labor then they would possibly induce me to get it going a little faster. So those are the worst case scenarios at this point. I think it's kind of funny because none of this stuff happened when our parents were having us. They just had the baby when they had it and there weren't all of the 'what if's'....crazy doctors! I hope that if it does get to be that big that I'll start to go into labor and avoid the whole c-section thing...that's the last thing I want if I have a choice.

So other than that little 'issue' everything else seems to be fine. I've gained a total of 11 lbs so we're on track there. The heartbeat sounds really good..when she could find it. Darn thing moves around so much that she kept losing the sound. So then she proceeded to say 'wow, you're really active in there'. Yet again, I know. Now the fun thing to do is to display its athletic abilities the most right when I'm laying down to sleep at night...like it's recess time and the kids just run around crazy all over the place because they're free.

Speaking of moving around so much again, we can now finally see my stomach move when it kicks which is pretty neat. It's kind of cool laying there then all of a sudden see your belly pop up real quick on one side.

No other issues to report on my end. I'm still feeling really good and definitely popping out much more now. Even within the last week and a half I've grown alot, by my standards...though I would have thought with the giant in there that I'd be bigger. I guess I have lots of free room in there! We're already in the very high 90's here so I'm not looking forward to summer, especially August and September, with the Brun sweat genes I have. I think I'll just keep an ice pack attached to me at all times:)

20 weeks

The betting can now begin...boy or girl?? (See poll at top Right)

Look at the top picture...3D is crazy!

We had our ultrasound today and it was AWESOME! I mean, seeing the baby in 3D is the coolest thing...it's not just this fuzzy image like the other one here. It's features are so clear!

The little guy/girl was moving all over the place in there this morning prompting the tech to say "Gosh, you've really got an active one in there!" Tell me about it. I kept telling Chris how I can feel it kick all day long and I think now he really gets it from seeing it move all over the place. I didn't realize all the measurements they take during the visit, so it was really neat to be able to lay there for about 30 minutes just watching the little thing. We got to see it's little face, the belly, heart, brain, spine, hands, and the feet just casually hanging out. She said the heart's looking good and beating quite fast, the brain looks good, and the baby's putting on weight rather well. So well, in fact, that it's in the 95th percentile for it's weight! What the hell?? He/she is about 15oz and the average for 20 weeks is about 10.5oz. And I don't hit exactly 20 weeks until Wednesday, so I think it's safe to say we've got a big one one our hands! She asked me if we think we may be off on our due date, and we just had to laugh and say "no, we're 100% on the dates of everything." Then we told her how big we both were at birth (me: over 9lbs, Chris: 11lbs). She kinda laughed back with that 'You're screwed" kind of look. Sweet. My kid needs to go on a diet already:) And I'll tell ya what...Chris is going to be in for it during labor. I will figure out a way to make him feel it all with me! Ha!

How I look: Still just a little bump on my front...not really a ball yet. I haven't gotten on the scale at home lately to see if I've gained more, but I don't feel like I've gotten any bigger in the last couple weeks since my last doctor's appointment. At least my clothes are fitting the same they did a coupld weeks ago. I'm sure that'll all change pretty quickly in the next few weeks though...especially with a sumo wrestler growing in there.

How I feel: Great! My appetite hasn't really increased all that much so thankfully I'm not starving all the time right now. I hadn't been sleeping the greatest at night, but last week (we went to Florida for the weekend) my sis-in-law, Amy, gave me her awesome body pillow to borrow. I've been sleeping so much better now that I have that! I think I want to buy one just to use all the time instead of a regular pillow. And now I catch Chris trying to nap with it when I'm not there:) So thanks Amy!

18 weeks

I had my monthly check-up today. Not too much to report at all. Everything looks and sounds great. Got to hear the heartbeat again..150bpm is just so fast! Doc said that she only hears one heartbeat so we're set with only one in there. I scheduled my ultrasound to be in a couple weeks so that'll be even more exciting. We only know what we saw at our first one but it was just the little blob on the screen. This time we'll get to actually see features on him/her, so we can't wait.

Something new this week...and so cool. I started to feel movements down there! That is the coolest/weirdest/creepiest thing! I noticed some funny feelings this past Sunday but didn't think too much about it. By time Sunday night came it dawned on me that it was the baby moving in there...after remembering what all of my books describe. I checked with the doctor and explained what I felt and she said that's exactly what it was. It's like having a butterfly in there that all of a sudden flaps it's wings and then stops real quickly..or like having a muscle twitch way inside for a couple seconds. Very cool. Chris got really excited thinking he'd be able to feel them but then I had to tell him that he probably won't get to feel them from the outside for another few weeks. Sorry dude, they're only for me:) I notice that I feel them most when I'm at work during the day sitting at my desk.

Also, I had my first experience clothes shopping for 'belly-friendly' stuff. It's so weird walking to the maternity section of a store thinking "Does that tent really look good on people?" Good Lord. Thankfully there is some really cute clothing to choose from also. I'm at the point now where my regular shirts are riding up on my belly so I'm needing some coverage. We don't need to look like white trash walking around now do we? From what I hear the saving grace of most preggies are spaghetti strap tank tops that are snug and long enough to pretty much wear under anything..I got a couple of those and they've made all of my shirts wearable still...and they cover up the unbuttoned jeans that are starting to be necessary:) Oh yeah, and Target is my friend. They have the most comfortable non-maternity gaucho capri knit pants that work perfectly for an expanding belly. I'm going to wear those out this summer. So, for this stage I'm getting by wearing 'regular people' clothes since most maternity pieces are still too big and puffy.

Hairy situation

Ok, so this is creeping me out. What's with the hair that starts to grow on the belly???? I used to have barely noticeable little blonde peach fuzz all over my stomach and now it's this much more noticeable brown hair that's growing all over (sorry to gross the men out here). These hormones are really screwing with me now and I'm pretty sure they think it's fun. Please, someone tell me that it will go away after the baby is out!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA BANANA!

16 weeks

Well, we're 4 months in already. This month has definitely been the best so far. I'm hoping the next couple will be just as good, if not better. And from what I hear, the second trimester is the best of all three so I'm glad that I've gotten to this point! I've been told to do all of my traveling during these next few months since it will start to get uncomfortable in the last trimester...so that's what we're planning to do!

As far as some of the planning stuff goes, we're just getting into nursery stuff right now. We're working on getting our current office moved into our bedroom so we can convert it into the baby's room. You don't realize how much stuff you accumulate living in a house until you're forced to basically eliminate everything in one of the rooms! It's kind of a pain trying to find a new place for everything! We decided on our 'gender neutral' theme for the room so now we can start to have fun picking out paint and going to town in there. I actually like that we're not finding out what we're having, because it's made it easier to pick out colors and bedding. Our choices were easily narrowed down from the overly-boy/girl options and there are some really cute modern looking designs that aren't over-the-top baby.

Other planning stuff we've been getting into...daycares. Ugh! I'm just having some issues with needing, not wanting, to send my kid to daycare at 8 weeks old. Why can't I just quit working so I don't have to worry about this??? If it were only that easy. I've been trying to find a place that is convenient for both Chris and me so that it's easy for him to drop off and just as easy for me to pick up. That pretty much leaves us with the daycares that are right here in our little town of Troutman. Now, we get made fun of for living in our little town from everyone around here...everyone seems to think that we're in Podunkville USA here. We're not, by any means, but it's just on the far north side of Charlotte, and all of the over-populating hasn't reached us just yet. It's coming, but we're just not there yet. That said, some of our options for daycare are, um, questionable. I had a starting list of 6 to look at. Yeah, that list is narrowed down to 2 very quickly. 3 of the 6 are 'at home' daycares. I thought that might work well for us, so I decided to do a couple drive-by's just to see what the houses looked like before I even made an appointment to meet with them. One is in a decent older neighborhood with overgrown landscaping and two completely run-down trucks in the driveway...not to mention there was ZERO play equipment anywhere to be found on the property. So I'm turned off right away. I go by the next house. I should have turned away when I entered the neighborhood and noticed the homes were all, what we call around here, 'manufactured homes' a.k.a double-wides. I decided to just drive by the house and see a sweet double-wide with 4 dog kennels in the backyard surrounded by a chain-link fence...and those 4 dogs I SWEAR looked similar to pit-bulls. Oh yeah, no play equipment again. I'll tell you what..my kid won't be attending either of these 'daycares'. Wow. The two others that were eliminated were a questionable small steel building owned by a church, and a really cute, huge-yarded, tons of play equipment, at-home daycare...with a two-year waiting list. THAT was the one I want apparently...two year waiting list?? My God! So now we're down to two church daycares. One was decent, but of course I really liked the one that is the most expensive and highest rated of all 6 that will be in a brand new beautiful building by time I'll need to use them....and they only offer full-time care. I'm hoping to cut back to three days a week at work so now it's really a budgeting thing to use this daycare. Like I said...ugh!

Now that I'm done complaining about daycares...here are the updates on the pregger body of mine.

How I look: I've put on a few more pounds and am just starting to pop out a little bit. It's amazing what even one week can do. Within a couple of days, I went from just being thick all around to having a little bubble protruding out. Now some of my shirts are starting to ride up enough to make me have to keep pulling them down to cover all of my skin. I think some longer shirt shopping will be in the works in the next week here!

How I feel: Great for the most part. No more sickness, no more nausea...thank God! I'm back to being able to go to bed at my normal time without passing out at 8:30, except I toss and turn all night long...not to mention there's always at least one time to get up in the middle of the night because I swear the bladder has shrunk to half its size! I have much more energy during the day and I don't feel like a truck has hit me every day when I wake up. So I can't complain about how I feel these days:)

We go back to the doctor in a week and a half and we will hopefully get confirmation that there is just one little Krugie growing in there, though we just feel there really is only one. But I guess we can never be sure until we see the new picture!

To know or not to know...

We've been getting everyone asking us if we're going to find out what we're having. We've been getting completely mixed opinions on the subject swaying us both ways, so we had a little thinking to do. I think we finally decided that we're going to let it be a surprise. I mean, how many more true surprises will we get in our lives...especially after hours of pain and pushing? And to be honest, I think I'll credit 80% of my decision (Chris's decision was just based on me pushing my opinion on him!) to Joe and Amy. Since I got to be at the hospital in FL when Adler was born, it was the coolest thing having Joe come downstairs to say "It's a Boy!" after waiting so long to find out. Thinking back on that made my decision really easy.

So far, the only thing I've found that's hard about our decision to wait is the whole nursery thing. It's really hard to find the bedding and a color scheme we want so that it'll go with both boy and girl. Even if there's a color scheme I like, it'll end up having all airplaines or all ladybugs on it. So I think we may end up just piecing together different striped and dotted things to make the room how we like it. I'm not into the overly boy or girl themes anyway so it shouldn't be so bad. And I'm not the kind of person to do all pink just because it's a girl.

I think other than the nursery stuff, just clothing will probably be the hardest thing since we won't be able to buy much pre-baby. At least we'll be able to buy the first month's basic starter clothing to get us by...I think!

14 weeks

We had our second appointment today and got to hear the heartbeat for the first time...that little thing pumps so fast! Even though we know the little guy/girl in in there, it's reassuring when you get to hear or see something:) Sometimes we think it's still this fake thing that we talk about since I'm not popping out and I don't feel anything moving. The doctor said I will more than likely take a while to start showing because of my height and I have so much room for him to grow in there. She said he will probably grow up before he grows out at all. So I guess that means I'll be able to wear most of my clothes for a while still!

The cat's out...

Well, we finally told. We called the Kruger side on Friday to let them know and of course they were ecstatic. I'm pretty sure my mother-in-law is already stocking up on fabric to sew all kinds of things...if she hasn't started sewing already!

My parents found out on Sunday and I'm pretty sure I could have used some ear plugs to quiet Mom's screams. They're really excited and can't wait. And I did find out that Mom was sick most of the time during her pregnancies, so now I have her to blame:) Dad said he has been gauging if he thinks I'd been pregnant the past few months he's been up here by seeing if I would drink...funny how having just a half glass of wine in front of someone will make them think I'm not!

12 weeks

The first trimester has just about come and gone already. Hard to believe there's only two more of them until the bean arrives. Surprisingly, not much has happened in the last two weeks. The allergic reaction came and went, and somehow my skin looks even better than it did before I got it! Weird.

How I look: I haven't put on any more weight at all. I definitely can't suck my stomach in to try to look skinny, but I think I've mostly maintained the weight I put on right away a month ago...which keeps me right on track according to the doctor. I'm just thick enough around my waist that if you know me and see me everyday then you would think 'hmm, looks like Jill's put on a few pounds'. I've graduated up to the next size jeans...my regular ones are just uncomfortable enough to make me stay away from them. And I try as hard as I can to suck in the belly when I'm around the family...I can't have the stomach give me away before I tell them!

How I feel: I'm feeling better now, and the morning sickness is down to practically just the mornings before I go to work. I eat and then it comes back up and then I'm good to go for the day. I do still look at certain foods and gag right away, but that's gotten much better too. That happened on Sunday, Easter. We had some of the family on their way over to hang out for the day and I decided to stir my crockpot of salsa cheese dip. As soon as I did it the smell and sight of it were enough to send me running for the bathroom. As soon as the 'issue' was handled the doorbell rings and in comes Tim and Kelly. That was close. We still haven't told anyone the news, so that would have been a dead giveaway...phew!

We won't be keeping it in much longer now...though it kind of has been fun keeping it to ourselves. Now that the first trimester is just about over, I feel much safer to tell people. Mom and Dad move up for good in two weeks so we'll be telling them the news then. Thank God they're getting up here then because I don't think I'll be able to keep the 'thickening' away from everyone much longer. It's been easy to hide the extra little weight gain around my waist and hips since it's been cold enough to wear sweaters and sweatshirts when family is around. We're just going to enjoy our last two weeks of no phone calls and questions and then the flood gates will open:)

10 weeks

The hits just keep on coming. This week is something new and interesting of course. Ever have those days where you realize you're all of a sudden out of like 5 or 6 different cosmetic/toiletries? I had one of those days, so I went to the store and got all new stuff, thought I'd try a couple new things in the mix of them all. Why not right? Bad choice apparently. Among the new shampoo, conditioner, body wash, make-up powder, face lotion, and fabric softener, something hates me. I bought all this stuff last Friday and used pretty much all of it that day and night. Come Saturday by the end of the day I feel this little patch of rough skin and bumps on my jawline. Hmm, that's strange. I go to bed and wake up Sunday to a full blown allergic reaction to something all over my face and neck....red patchy bumps all over the place that itch. No kidding, my entire face was covered. Not even my eyelids could escape it. Sweet. Now, let's figure out what the heck just happened because this is not cool. Which of the new things that I just bought could be causing this? I have no idea because I've never had a reaction to anything ever before. And I just used like 6 new things all in one day so it's not that easy to pick which one is being the jerk. Is it the fabric softener and the clothes it was on touch my face as I put them on? Is it the shampoo or conditioner since my hair touches my face and then sleeping helps it get all over it even more? Is it the make-up? Maybe the face lotion.

Not helping matters was telling my neighbor all about it and then having her say, "I've heard of some women breaking out in a rash and keeping it for the whole pregnancy." Awesome, but things could be much worse I remind myself.

Fast forward a week and it's now Friday. I still have the bumps though they are clearing slowly and I don't look like as much of a monter walking around. I think it was the face lotion, so that's not ever going to be used again. The little demon seed sure likes to remind me that I'm much more touchy with things than normal. Thanks hormones!

8 weeks

October 8th will be here before we know it! I can't believe 8 weeks have past already!

The past couple weeks were hard being sick. Somehow, I think I'm starting to crest the hill of this morning sickness thing. I still feel gaggy during the day but I'm starting to have somewhat of an appetite. I've now switched to a third different kind of medicine and that has seemed to help. Thanks to my pregnant neighbor's recommendation to switch to the medicine she is on, I'm doing better. At least now I'm not on the couch all day! This little thing in me has sure been letting me know he's there!

Today we had our first doctor's appointment. It was so exciting to know we were going to get to see a picture of the little bean for the first time! I had previously been in to have my blood work done, and the doctor said everything is fine with that. She got me up on the table and started my ultrasound. Let me just say, and I know all you moms will say the same thing, but that is the most amazing thing seeing this tiny little human the size of a butterbean on the screen. How is it even real?? You can see his head and his little tail and he's just hanging out in there. At 8 weeks we can't hear the heartbeat yet, but we'll get to hear that next time. We were perfectly content just seeing the little guy/girl. So as the nurse practitioner is starting the ultrasound, as we're sidetracked just looking at the screen, she got a little quiet. Then we see her looking closer at the screen. I notice she hasn't said anything so I ask what's wrong. She says, 'Well, you see this over here? And do you see this over here?'. Yes, Marilyn, I see both things...why Marilyn?? 'Well, I'm not sure but that just looks like a second little blip on the screen and I'm not sure what it is.' Marilyn, that's not funny. I thought Chris was about to have a heart attack as he gripped my arm. 'Let me just go get one of the doctors so they can have a look for me.' Yes, please do. So the doctor comes in and takes a look at the sreen looking all around and says yes, there's something else on screen but she's 'almost sure' that it's not two embryos. Almost sure...not positively sure. Chris and I looked at each other and I could just see him adding dollar signs in his head. So we're pretty sure there's just one in there. At least that's what we're going to believe looking at the picture printout that shows the just the one below on the one side of my uterus.


How I look: Well, I have gained 4 lbs at my first appointment. 4lbs. That's not what I wanted to hear. I figure it's from eating pretty much straight carbohydrates for 2 weeks straight. Hopefully now that I'm eating better foods I won't gain so fast! My clothes are definitely tighter than they normally are.

How I feel: Better. I think in the next couple weeks I'll be feeling much better. I'm starting to toss and turn at night, and I'm falling asleep by 9:00. I can't keep my eyes open much past that.

Let me just say here that I have the best husband in the world. He has done nothing but try to make sure I'm as comfortable as I can be when I'm at home. He's had to put up with no dinners when he gets home from work after a 12hr day at 7:30 (that good 'ol race team always keeps him late) just to try to figure out what to make me so I feel better. Or he gets home just to turn right around to go out to get something because I'll think of a food that I want to eat that's not at home. He's been wonderful!

6 weeks

I’m sick:(

So, yes, I’ve been warned about morning sickness. I’ve read all about it and have heard absolute HORROR stories. I thought, maybe I’ll be one of the lucky ones. I dont recall the sister-in-laws Kate, Kelly, or Amy complaining about getting sick so maybe it doesn’t hit everyone. And who knows if Mom was ever sick. I’ve never had the need to have to ask her and since we haven’t told anyone the news yet, I can’t exactly call up now to ask. But still, maybe I’ll be fine. Um, wrong!

Week 5 started this last Wednesday and I’ve been warned by my neighbor who is pregnant about 5 weeks ahead of me that it hits hard come 5 weeks. Well, darn it if she wasn’t right. This past Thursday and Friday I started to feel funny…funny in a nothing sounds good to eat with an overactive gag reflex way. The weekend came and I was out of commission on the couch. I’ve felt nauseous before, but not like this. Every minute of the day feels like you’re going to get sick. Absolutely nothing sounds good to eat, but I know I need to eat to help curb the nausea.

It’s Wednesday, just finished my 6th week and it’s been bad. I’ve been home from work since Monday feeling absolutely horrible. It’s so hard to eat when I don’t know what I want. When I think of food I want to vomit, but I know I need to come up with something to eat. I’ll decide on something, eat it quickly, and then a half hour later think that what I just ate is the most disgusting thing on earth. I seem to not be able to repeat foods since they aren’t good after I have them the first time. Meat, fruit, veggies, milk…don’t even think about it. It seems carbs have been my only friend this week. I’ve been trying to eat as soon as I open my eyes in the morning before sitting up. I can’t say that it helps throughout the day, but I definitely think it helps get over the first wave of nausea and vomiting first thing in the morning.

Dad called today and wants to do dinner with us tomorrow. That is the last thing I wanted to hear but we’ll make it work somehow! Maybe I can offer him some saltines and chicken noodle soup??

It's Positive!!!

It's positive!! Looks like there's going to be a little (or giant) Krugie joining our world in 8 months!

I took my first test January 30th after work and right away the little line showed up. I was all by myself at home and just stood there looking at the strip, staring. Staring. I thought, maybe it could be a false positive, so I ran up the street to Dollar General (that's right, Dollar General) to get more tests. I thought they can't be any less positive than the expensive ones so why not? I got back to the house and took another test...positive again. Ok, I'm just going to take a few more because it's hard to convince yourself that it's really real. So I took another the following morning, and another that night, and another the next day. Ok, so by now it's for real. I told Chris that Friday and he just stared at me and said 'Are you sure?'. Um, yep, believe me I'm sure. I showed him all the tests I took and he got excited!

How I look: Obviously, no physical changes are happening at this point other than knowing there's a little bean growing inside me all of a sudden. That's so hard to comprehend when you can't feel or see anything. And I haven't been to the doctor yet, so it's like it's just this made up thing that Chris and I talk about. Weird.

How I feel: I feel great other than I've noticed how much hungrier I've been. I am starving every couple hours and can't seem to keep enough food in my stomach. I didn't think I'd be able to notice anything this early but apparently I can! If I keep eating the way I am I'm going to be huge! Other than the food, I feel great. I'm not tired and I'm sleeping just fine. I have a feeling this will all change very soon...it's just a matter of time.

We decided that we are going to wait to tell the family, so by time you all read this I'll probably be just about done with my first trimester. Sorry for not telling sooner, but I just want to make sure the little bean sticks and I don't have a miscarriage. Also, I'm just not going to be ready for the phone calls!!

We are so excited for the next 8 months of planning, turning our office into a nursery, and shopping for all kinds of baby things. We already decided that we need to get in as many trips as possible before he comes since we won't be able to do that by ourselves anymore!